Saraswati: The Divine Wisdom

Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, music and art is worshipped and revered as a goddess of knowledge and wisdom not only in Hindu religion but also in many ancient cultures.

There have been references of goddess Saraswati since the early Vedic period. In the Rigveda, Saraswati is a river as well as its personification as a goddess. In the post-Vedic age, she began to lose her status as a river goddess and became increasingly associated with literature, arts, music, etc.

In Hinduism, Saraswati represents intelligence, consciousness, cosmic knowledge, creativity, education, enlightenment, music, the arts, eloquence and power.

Saraswati was born out of the creator of the universe, Brahma's mouth. Hence, she is believed to be the daughter of Lord Brahma. Some believe that Lord Brahma was so enchanted by her beauty that he married her.

In most iconographies, Goddess Saraswati is depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure white with an ocean-like calm face. She is portrayed as playing a Veena while sitting on a bloomed white lotus flower. In most images a swan and a peacock accompanies Her.

In the East Indian states of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa: Saraswati is considered to be a daughter of Durga along with her sister Lakshmi and her brothers Ganesha and Karthikeya. We get references of Saraswati in Buddhist religion too. Saraswati is known as a guardian deity in Buddhism who upholds the teachings of Gautama Buddha by offering protection and assistance to practitioners.

In India, Saraswati is revered so much that when a person accidentally treads upon a book or pen( any manifestation of the goddess) the person feels obligated to feel apology and do the gesture of "Pranama".

Saraswati has inspired many artisans and master craftsmen to create beautiful works of art including sculptures, paintings and other masterpieces. Saraswati is traditionally represented as holding a book, a rosary, a water pot and a musical instrument. Each of these items symbolically represents what Saraswati means to millions of believers. The book represents knowledge, the rosary represents the divine power of meditation, the pot of water represents the power to purify right from wrong and the musical instrument represents the creative arts and sciences.

At Artisanscrest, our dedicated team of artists and craftsmen are eager to work in close collaboration with you to co-create your own exclusive part of art history. Get in touch with us at contact@artisanscrest.com and create your own masterpiece.